Meghan and Harry's new home in Santa Barbara

[Wishingstarr]

Well I've seen the news articles and their new home looks absolutely beautiful and a dream SB pad with the ivy clad walls, pool, tennis court etc. SB has gorgeous homes although very expensive and pretty unaffordable for the humble hoi pilloi. I think Meg has played a blinder. I truly hope their marriage lasts but if not she is in possession of some prime real estate and a neighbor of Oprah. It's also where so many politicians come through fundraising at private events, so if she is politically ambitious she is well situated.

However with 9 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms 😄 I really think they CANNOT lecture the world on cutting back and making do to save the environment in anyway!

I am sure DM readers will explode with jealousy and a collective gnashing of teeth. But they wanted her gone, and she has, to a beautiful ocean facing estate with year round sunshine. Good on yer Megs!

they dont know much about them (what happened with RF, etc.) in US like they do in UK.

That is very true @Viviennemary
She no doubt listened to advice.

Fergie, id be less convinced she listened to advice, but Fergie was authentic.

Meghan doesnt listen to advice and she is so inauthentic it seems to me. Harry needs to read the room and notice thst his image has tanked since he stopped having to obey the men in grey suits.

I was another one who was so happy for H&M, I found some of the private jet stuff a bit hypocritical and thought they should have calmed down and settled into their marriage and new family without trying to change the world in six months, but genuinely felt for them, as that sort of press intrusion and bullying is something none of us would want, but sadly is part of the course for the royals. I was supportive of them leaving the royal family if it was the right thing for them, although felt it was all handled pretty petulantly.

It just seems now, that their quest for a quiet, private life, was more about using the RF as a springboard to a top-flight celebrity lifestyle, without the means to fund it in the long term (if you take out any speaking engagements or articles trading off the back of the royals). It seems that Meghan has achieved the pinnacle of her celebrity career by an unusual route, but unfortunately there has been a lot of damage done in their wake, not least in Harry’s family relationships. I hope time will heal, I hope those cousins have relationships with each other as they are growing up in a fairly unique situation. I hope M&H enjoy their house. But please don’t wang on about the environment or whatever the cause du jour is, after doing a 2 hours charity photo op, an Instagram post and one red carpet a week, and consider yourself hardworking and deserving of the lavish lifestyle you didn’t earn.

And to her credit, Meghan’s grenfell charity cookbook is great

Think MM is actually quite an accomplished cook. Shame really as she could have been a great American Nigella!

If the mention of a a "two hour photo op" in the previous post was a reference to "Baby2Baby" then H&M were only there for TEN MINUTES. Plus they flew there by private jet (really environmentally friendly - it's driveable) and they took their own photographer and wouldn't release the photos for 48 hours because MM was doing a summit talk and they wanted to drip feed the news so it wouldn't clash. Apparently they asked the charity to pay their air fare. I don't know if they did but I very much doubt it. And all this information is in the public domain - not idle speculative gossip.

A private jet for a 20 odd minute flight? Why not just drive ffs? Its not like they'd have to do it themselves.

I read they went by helicopter. They asked the charity to pay for it but they declined.

of course the charity wont mention that they asked for expense of transport by the helicopter. they will publish only the nice bits.

I’m wondering if they’re burning through their fortune on court cases (and even if they win, presumably they will feel they have to make a big point of giving the damages away to some worthy cause). Hence them seeking freebies and free publicity on the quiet.

And... if true about asking a charity to pay for flights, it concerns me about how many expenses for fairly trivial things end up coming out of their own charities and foundations.

I know this is probably fairly commonplace in the charity sector though, direct debits from little old ladies paying for Michelin star donor schmoozing and the CEO‘s Christmas bonus.

know this is probably fairly commonplace in the charity sector though, direct debits from little old ladies paying for Michelin star donor schmoozing and the CEO‘s Christmas bonus. thats sad isnt it?

I've stopped giving to the bigger charities. Only give to small local ones now. Too many hangers on making mega bucks.

@Gonegrey31

This week’s Spectator magazine has an article on what are described as the “colossal” running costs of the couple’s new house, estimated at $100,000 per month. The piece speculates that these costs explain why the house took so long to sell.

The cost of running a home must be so alien to Harry, he’s never had to put his hand in his pocket for a house in his life, suddenly he had to find goodness knows how much per month (unless Charles is paying of course) no wonder he looks shell shocked most of the time these days.

Even if Charles is paying I expect it's the first time Harry has been faced with bills such as gardeners, maintenance, cleaners. Housekeepers, rates, vehicle taxation. I bet he's clueless as to how much living actually costs when you have to pay for it. And neither of them will have any experience of running a house that size.

I doubt they will be running it - their housekeeping team will manage all that

Charles will be paying for it all and the staff will be dealing with all the day to day running around. Leaving them free to write lectures and speechify to the masses.

And neither of them will have any experience of running a house that size.

First time for everything, eh.

They'll cope. They have lots of support.

It's easy to cope when you don't have to worry about balancing the books.

course.

They have plenty of other pressures though that we can't even dream off. ( apologies if any other members/ex members are reading this of course)

member/ex members of the royal family

@MissEliza

It's easy to cope when you don't have to worry about balancing the books.

It's easy to cope financially in that case but everyone has pressures and hardship of some description.

Never wear navy tops and beige trousers as that is the uniform combo of rich people’s Staff.

Never wear navy tops and beige trousers as that is the uniform combo of rich people’s Staff. i didnt know that, i will be more careful from now on .

I've just finished the H&M book and it talks about people taking photos of their bedrooms etc. In that respect I understand why they would want massive grounds around them. From a holiday there, Santa Barbara is just stunning. I agree that the running costs will be astronomical - they'll have assistants to co-ordinate it all I'd imagine. The book claimed the copper bath was a myth too.

I love H&M but they are making some impulsive decisions and I really hope things can settle down for them now and they get the family space they want